Publications and Research
Document Type
Working Paper
Publication Date
Summer 2023
Abstract
The three respective texts, the Old English poem Beowulf, the Old Norse The Saga of the Volsungs, and the Middle High German text Nibelungenlied, feature female characters who fulfill the avenging woman archetype. In each of the three works, the female character uses unfeminine strength or cunning to exact vengeance for being wronged. In Beowulf, the avenging woman takes the form of Grendel’s mother, whose descriptions of monstrosity are owed to her acts of bloodshed to avenge the death of her son. In The Saga of the Volsungs, the vengeful plot enacted by Signy reveals her unusual display of cunning and willingness as she bides her time to exact the greatest form of revenge on those who murdered her family. In Nibelungenlied, Kriemhild’s grief from her husband’s murder at the end of the first part of the tale morphs into a driving force of bitter vengeance by the second half. Each of the women resorts to gross acts of cunning and violence to carry out their revenge, thereby assigning feelings of repulsion to them for what they have done. I will explore the way the characters and actions of the avenging women occur in each text by bringing the original texts into conversation with contemporary literary analyses. By exploring these avenging women, I will also show how these three women are analogous to each other — including how their roles as mothers play a part in their fulfillment of these roles.
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